Grace Cathedral
Article | September 30, 2023
Congregation Update: Doing the Impossible
Blog|The Rev. Canon Mary Carter Greene
Dear Grace Cathedral Friends,
“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
-St. Francis
This Sunday, we celebrate the life and work of St. Francis, the patron saint of our city, and we give thanks for all of God’s creation in our annual Feast of St. Francis and Blessing of the Animals.
This Feast Day not only brings our furry and feathered friends to church; it reminds us of our place in and responsibility for all of God’s creation.
Sometimes concerns about big issues like the environment can seem overwhelming, but as the St. Francis Quote above encourages, taking necessary and possible steps results in outcomes that previously may have seemed impossible. This is one of the reasons we gather as a faithful and active community.
What environmental steps, necessary and possible, might St. Francis invite us to address? What are the practical steps you are taking or considering in order to help the environment?
A Grace Group on Creation Care is being added to our growing list of Grace Groups resuming for the Fall quarter. Maybe this is a place to begin making the impossible possible.
If you’d like to join a Grace Group to make new friends and build community around action for the environment or one of our other Grace Groups, we invite you to sign up now.
Grace Groups are small affinity groups that share an interest or identity. This fall, our groups are connecting around the following areas of interest:
Creation Care, Youngish Adults (30s and 40s), LGBTQ+, Poetry, Contemplative Practices, Self-Care, and Understanding + Action on the Housing Crisis. Some topics have multiple groups.
Larger group gatherings are coming soon too! Seniors with Grace invites you to Senior Fall Fun Day at Grace Cathedral on Wednesday, October 18, from 10 am to 3 pm. We’ll enjoy brunch, an insider’s cathedral tour, a labyrinth walk, worship, and top the day off with tea and cookies. Registration is required and limited to 50. We welcome you to sign up now.
Our Edge of Halloween spooktacular for families with children and youth returns on Sunday, October 29, and we need the help of volunteers to help set up and break down the event or to participate in costume to create a memorable experience for the 400 we are expecting! Share your interest here or email Steph McNally!
Finally, Sunday Coffee Hour following our morning services is always a great place to make new friends and to find ways to plug into the community. This Sunday, we give thanks for Grace Cathedral’s Women in Community, who are sponsoring Coffee Hour. If you would like to sponsor/provide Coffee Hour as an individual or as a Grace Cathedral Ministry, please reach out to our newest Office of the Congregation Grace Cathedral Staff member, Kate Seagrave, at kates@gracecathedral.org.
St. Francis calls us to do.
Every blessing on these efforts!
Love,
Mary Carter
The Rev. Cn. Mary Carter Greene
Canon Pastor